As I increase my presence on social media, I routinely use the hashtag mompreneur. I love the term because for me, it accurately describes who I am. I am a Mom who is also an entrepreneur and both of these roles explain and define who I am and what my priorities are.

I recently read an article where a female entrepreneur took issue with the term mompreneur. In this article, she explained that she felt it marginalized women who were Moms and made them appear as less serious business owners.

I totally disagree.

Being seen as a mompreneur clearly expresses talents and skills possessed by women entrepreneurs who are also Moms.

To be a Mom, you must possess the following skills that are also needed to run a successful business.

1. Prioritizing – First, Moms know the value of prioritizing. As a Mom, we have multiple demands
facing us every day. We have to understand how to prioritize and get things done so that everything does not fall apart. This is a useful skill for an entrepreneur as well. As a business owner, you find yourself in a similar position of having to address multiple demands and putting out fires. Many people are depending on you. Being able to effectively handle prioritizing at home helps you in running your own business as well.

2. Listening – Moms have great listening skills. Moms do more than just listen to people speak but we have a keen ear that allows us to read between the lines. We know the right questions to ask to get to what we really need to know. As a Mom, we can usually decipher body language and detect when we are not hearing the whole truth. The most important skill you can develop as an entrepreneur is the ability to listen and understand what your clients’ needs are which ultimately makes you more successful in business.

3. Care & Compassion – Being a Mom is the most caring and compassionate job there is. Every Mom I know feel they didn’t know what true unconditional love was until they had children. Having children, we get up in the middle of the night to nurse a sick child, we stay up late worrying when they are out and we sacrifice to make sure they are happy. Care and compassion are innate qualities of Moms and are must have skills for an entrepreneur. With customer service being key to the success of your business, having a caring and compassionate business owner is a plus.

4. Organization – To run a household, you have to be organized. Between your own commitments, getting children to their many activities, keeping a house, etc., the only way to get everything done that needs to get done is by being organized. Those organizational skills help tremendously in running a business.

5. Do More with Less – Moms are the masters of doing more with less. It would be great to have unlimited resources, but many of us just do not have that luxury so we are constantly improvising and making sure you get things done with what you have…very much like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have to wear many hats in their business. They are usually juggling many roles and responsibilities and have to get things done with limited resources.

As a high-achieving, successful professional, I wear my Mompreneur badge with pride. Being a mompreneur is great and I don’t feel marginalized at all. I am able to spend quality time with my children while showing them the importance being self-sufficient, independent and being their own boss. Mompreneurs delicately handle the balancing act between family commitments and work, which I believe makes better families and better businesses.